Object holder for a direct-to-object printer

ABSTRACT

What is disclosed is an object holder for retaining an object in a direct-to-object print system and a direct-to-object print system configured to use various embodiments of the object holder of the present invention. In one embodiment, the object holder comprises a shuttle mount configured to slideably traverse a support member positioned parallel to a plane formed by the printhead. At least one collapsible membrane is attached to the shuttle mount. The membrane forms an airtight sack filled with granules. The membrane collapses at least partially around an object when a volume of air is withdrawn from the membrane by a vacuum pump. The vacuum pump withdrawing a volume of air from the membrane causes the membrane to collapse and tightly pack the granules inside the membrane. The vacuum-packed granules cause the membrane to conform to the shape of the object thereby securing the object to the shuttle mount.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to a printing system for depositingink directly on to a surface of an object and, more particular, to adevice which securely retains an object in the direct-to-object printsystem while the object is being printed on.

BACKGROUND

Printers known in the document reproduction arts apply a markingmaterial, such as ink or toner, onto a sheet of paper. To printsomething on an object that has a non-negligible depth such as a coffeecup, bottle, and the like, typically a label is printed and the printedlabel is applied to the surface of the object. However, in somemanufacturing and production environments, it is desirable to printdirectly on the object itself but this poses a diverse set of hurdleswhich must be overcome before such specialized direct-to-object printsystems become more widely accepted in commerce. One of these hurdles ishow to secure the object in such a specialized printer while the objectis being printed. Such direct-to-object print systems have a componentoften referred to as an object holder. The present invention isspecifically directed to an object holder for use in a direct-to-objectprint system designed to print directly on a surface of an object.

BRIEF SUMMARY

What is disclosed is an object holder for retaining an object in adirect-to-object print system. In one embodiment, the object holdergenerally comprises a shuttle mount configured to slideably traverse asupport member positioned parallel to a plane formed by the printhead.At least one collapsible membrane is attached to the shuttle mount. Themembrane forms an airtight sack filled with granules. The membranecollapses at least partially around an object when a volume of air iswithdrawn from the membrane by a vacuum pump. The vacuum pumpwithdrawing a volume of air from the membrane causes the membrane tocollapse and tightly pack the granules inside the membrane. Thevacuum-packed granules cause the membrane to conform to the shape of theobject thereby securing the object to the shuttle mount.

What is also disclosed is a direct-to-object print system configured touse various embodiments of the object holder of the present invention.In one embodiment, the direct-to-object print system incorporates atleast one printhead configured to eject marking material such as ink. Anobject holder configured to slideably traverse a support memberpositioned to be parallel to a plane formed by the printhead. Anactuator that operatively causes the object holder to move the objectalong the support member past the printhead. A controller which causesthe printhead to eject marking material on to the object held by theobject holder as the object moves past the printhead.

Features and advantages of the above-described apparatus anddirect-to-object print system will become readily apparent from thefollowing description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the subject matterdisclosed herein will be made apparent from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates one example embodiment of the direct-to-object printsystem disclosed herein;

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the present object holder for retainingan object in a direct-to-object print system;

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present object holder wherein theshuttle mount has a plurality of sides to form a retention container;

FIG. 4A shows a front view of the object holder of FIG. 2 wherein theshuttle mount has two sidewalls which help contain a bottle on thecollapsible membrane;

FIG. 4B shows a bottom view of the object holder of FIG. 4A wherein avacuum has been drawn on the membrane thereby causing the membrane tocollapse at least partially around the bottle between the two sidewallsto help secure the bottle to the shuttle mount;

FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the direct-to-object printsystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 shows another alternative embodiment of the direct-to-objectprint system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 show one embodiment of the present direct-to-object print systemhoused in a cabinet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

What is disclosed is an object holder for securely retaining an objectin a direct-to-object print system, and a direct-to-object print systemconfigured to operatively use various embodiments of the object holderof the present invention.

Non-Limiting Definitions

An “object”, has at least one surface thereof to be printed with ink.Example objects are sports equipment and paraphernalia, golf clubs andballs, commemorative gifts, coffee cups, to name a few.

A “direct-to-object print system”, or simply “print system” is a printerdesigned to print on a surface of an object. The direct-to-object printsystem of FIG. 1 incorporates at least the following functionalcomponents: at least one printhead, a support member, an actuator, acontroller, and an object holder.

A “printhead” or “print head” is an element (such as an inkjet) whichemits or ejects a droplet of marking material such as ink on to asurface of an object thereby making a mark on that object. In oneembodiment, the direct-to-object print system has a plurality ofmonochrome printheads and a UV cure lamp. The print zone is a width of asingle M-series printhead (˜4 inches). Each printhead is fluidlyconnected to a supply of marking material (not shown). Some or all ofthe printheads may be connected to the same supply. Each printhead canbe connected to its own supply so each printhead ejects a differentmarking material. A 10×1 array of printheads is shown at 104 of FIG. 1.

A “support member”, at 106 of FIG. 1, is positioned to be parallel to aplane formed by the printheads and is oriented so that one end of thesupport member is at a higher gravitational potential than the other endof the support member. The vertical configuration of the printheads andthe support member enables the present direct-to-object print system tohave a smaller footprint than a system configured with a horizontalorientation of the printheads and support member. In an alternativeembodiment, a horizontal configuration orients the printheads such thatthe object holder moves an object past the horizontally arrangedprintheads.

An “actuator”, at 110 of FIG. 1, is an electro-mechanical device thatcauses the object holder to slideably traverse the support member. Inone embodiment, a controller causes the actuator to move an objectholder at speeds that attenuate the air turbulence in a gap between theprinthead and the surface of the object being printed.

An “object holder” physically restrains an object while the objectholder is moving along the support member so that the object can passthe printhead. The object holder generally comprises a shuttle mount 112configured to slideably traverse the support member and at least onecollapsible membrane 103 attached to the shuttle mount. The membraneforms an airtight sack filled with granules. The membrane collapses atleast partially around an object when a volume of air is withdrawn fromthe membrane by a vacuum pump connected to the membrane. The vacuum pumpwithdrawing a volume of air from the membrane causes the membrane tocollapse. The vacuum-packed granules inside the collapsed membraneconform to the shape of a side of the object thereby securing the objectto the attached shuttle mount.

A “membrane”, as used herein, refers to a collapsible airtight bag orsack which has at least one side either fixed securely to the shuttlemount or is releasably attached to the shuttle mount using, for example,a Velcro material. An outer surface of the membrane has a coefficient ofstatic friction at least 0.2 or greater to help the grip a surface ofthe object being retained. The membrane can be of a rubberized material.The membrane is preferably made of a puncture-resistant or punctureproof material with relatively high elasticity. The membrane is filledwith granules.

A “granule” is a relatively small grain or particle. Example granulesare coffee grounds, sand, rice, pellets, beads, knucklebones (alsocalled “jacks”), or an ester-based polyurethane foam packing material. Asize of the granules is typically between 2-5 mm but may be larger orsmaller depending on the implementation. Not all the granules have to bethe same size. The granules may be multi-faceted. Multi-faceted granulesassist in retaining an object to the shuttle mount when they arevacuum-packed tightly together.

A “vacuum pump”, at 113 of FIG. 1, as are generally understood, isconnected to the collapsible membrane 103 through a vacuum hose 108. Thevacuum hose can be a rigid hose or a soft flexible hose. When a volumeof air is withdrawn from the membrane, the membrane partially collapsesaround the object thereby causing the vacuum-packed granules to conformto a shape of the object to be printed. In one embodiment, a reliefvalve 105 is utilized to equalize the air pressure inside the membraneso that the object can be released from the object holder. The vacuumpump 113 and valve 105 may be operated by a controller.

A “controller”, at 114 of FIG. 1, is a processor or ASIC which controlsvarious components of the present direct-to-object print system. Thecontroller is configured to retrieve machine readable programinstructions from memory 116 which, when executed, configure thecontroller to signal or otherwise operate the actuator 110 to move theobject holder past the printheads. When other retrieved instructions areexecuted, the controller is configured to signal, or otherwise operatethe printheads to start/stop ejecting marking material at a precise timeand at a desired location on a surface of the object retained by theobject holder. The controller may be further configured to operate thevarious printheads such that individual printheads eject different sizedroplets of marking material. The controller may be configured tocommunicate with a user interface.

A “user interface”, at 118 of FIG. 1, generally comprises a display 120such as a touchscreen, monitor, or LCD device for presenting visualinformation to a user, an annunciator 122 which emits an audible sound,and an input device 124 such as a keypad for receiving a user input orselection. The controller can be configured to operate the userinterface to notify an operator of a failure. The controller monitorsthe system to detect the configuration of the printheads in the systemand the inks being supplied to the printheads. If the inks or theprinthead configuration is unable to print the objects accurately andappropriately then a message is presented to the user on the display ofthe user interface that, for example, inks need to be changed or thatthe printheads needs to be reconfigured. The controller can beconfigured to use the annunciator of the user interface to inform theoperator of a system status and to attract attention to fault conditionsand displayed messages. The user interface may further include a warninglight.

An “identification tag”, at 126 of FIG. 1, is a machine-readable indiciathat is attached to the object holder. The identification tag embodiesan identifier that is readable or otherwise receivable by an inputdevice such as sensor 128. The identifier contains information about theobject being printed and/or the location of the object as it traversesthe support member. The received identifier is, in turn, communicated tothe controller. The identification tag can be, for example, a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag with the input device being a RFIDreader. The identification tag can also be a barcode with the inputdevice being a barcode reader. In another embodiment, the identificationtag comprises one or more protrusions, indentations, or combinationsthereof in the object or object holder that can be detected or otherwiseread by a biased arm which follows a surface of an area comprising theidentification tag. In this embodiment, the biased arm is a cam followerthat converts the detected protrusions, indentations, and the likeposition of the mechanical indicia comprising the identification taginto electrical signals which, in turn, are communicated to thecontroller for processing. In other embodiments, the identification tagcomprises optical or electromagnetic indicia. The controller comparesthe identifier received from the input device to various identifiersstored in memory 116. The controller can disable operation of theactuator and/or the operation of the printheads in response to thereceived identifier failing to correspond to an identifier stored in thememory. The controller can also be configured to use the user interfaceto inform the operator of processing that needs to be performed. Forexample, an identification tag may indicate that an object in the objectholder requires special treatment such as pre-coating prior to printingor post-coating after the object is printed. A location of theidentification tag or a failure to detect an identification tag mayindicate to the controller that the object held by the object holder ismisaligned, has come loose, or is absent altogether. The controller, inthese examples, would communicate a message to the display 120 regardingthe detected condition(s).

A “sensor”, at 128 of FIG. 1, is a device such as a digital camera orother imaging device positioned to generate image data by imaging, forexample, a sheet of printed media with a test pattern. The controller isconfigured to receive the image data from the sensor and analyze theimage data to identify printhead alignment, image quality, and othermaintenance issues such as inoperative ejectors, low ink supply, or poorink quality. The controller uses the user interface to notify theoperation such that the operator is able to understand the reason whythe controller disabled of the direct-to-object print system.

Embodiments of Object Holders

Reference is now being made to FIG. 2 which shows one embodiment of thepresent object holder for securely retaining an object while it is beingprinted in a direct-to-object print system. The object holder comprises,in part, a shuttle mount 112 (shown as a rectangular plate) configuredto slideably traverse the support member 106. A collapsible membrane 103is attached to the shuttle mount by a plurality of attachments 200.Depending on the implementation, the attachments may either fix themembrane securely to the shuttle mount or releasably attach the membraneto the shuttle mount. The attachments 200 can be, in one embodiment,Velcro strips attached to the back of the membrane and to the surface ofthe shuttle mount so that the membrane can be removed from the shuttlemount and replaced with other membrane(s) of a different sizes or shapesdepending on the object to be retained in the object holder. Further,the membrane 103 may comprise a plurality of membranes of differentsizes and shapes, each connected to the vacuum hose 108 through reliefvalue 105 such that, when a vacuum is drawn in the plurality ofmembranes, the membranes collectively collapse to secure the object tothe shuttle mount.

Reference is now being made to FIG. 3 which shows an embodiment of theshuttle mount of the present object holder wherein the shuttle mount 112has a plurality of sides to form a box 300 which extends around one ormore sides of the membrane. The shuttle mount may have as many sides asare needed or as are desired. A size of any of the sides of a shuttlemount can vary in height and shape to help retain the membrane(s) andthe variously-shaped object(s) retained thereby.

Reference is now being made to FIG. 4A which shows a front view of theobject holder of FIG. 2 wherein the shuttle mount 112 has two sidewalls401, 402. The two sidewalls help contain the object, shown as a bottle400, on the collapsible membrane 103. FIG. 4B shows a bottom view of theobject holder of FIG. 4A wherein a vacuum has been drawn on the membrane103 by the pump 11 of FIG. 1. The negative air pressure inside themembrane causes the membrane to collapse at least partially around thebottle 400 thereby help securing the bottle between the two sidewalls onthe shuttle mount.

It should be appreciated that the embodiments shown are for explanatorypurposes and should not be viewed as limiting the scope of the appendedclaims strictly to those embodiments. Other embodiments includedifferent configurations of shuttle mounts as well as other shapedmembranes of varying sizes may be utilized as well as different ways ofattaching the membrane(s) to the shuttle mount. Such embodiments areintended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Embodiments of Direct-to-Object Print Systems

What is also disclosed is a direct-to-object print system configured touse various embodiments of the object holder of the present invention.

Reference is now being made to FIG. 5 which illustrates an alternativeembodiment to the direct-to-object print system of FIG. 1 which uses abelt to move the object holder past the printheads. The support membercomprises a pair of support members 506A and 506B about which theshuttle mount 112 is slideably attached. A pair of fixedly positionedpulleys 508A and 508B and a belt 510 form an endless belt entrainedabout the pair of pulleys, and a rotatable pulley 512 engages theendless belt to enable the third pulley to rotate in response to themovement of the endless belt moving about the pair of pulleys to movethe object holder disclosed herein. The actuator 516 operatively rotatesthe drive pulley to move the endless belt about the pulleys. Thecontroller 114 is configured to operate the actuator. Parts comprisingthe object holder of FIG. 1 have been omitted to show underlyingcomponents.

Reference is now being made to FIG. 6 which illustrates yet anotherembodiment of the direct-to-object print system of FIG. 1. One end of abelt 602 is operatively connected to a take-up reel 604 that isoperatively connected to the actuator 516. The other end of the belt ispositionally fixed at 606. The belt also engages a rotatable pulley 512attached to the object holder. The support member comprises a pair ofsupport members 506A and 506B about which the shuttle mount 112 isslideably attached. The actuator rotates the take-up reel to wind aportion of the length of the belt about the take-up reel to cause theobject holder to move past the printheads. The actuator unwinds the beltfrom the take-up reel. The controller 114 is configured to operate theactuator. Parts comprising the object holder of FIG. 1 have been omittedto show underlying components.

Reference is now being made to FIG. 7 which shows an embodiment of thepresent direct-to-object print system 700 housed in a cabinet 702. Theobject holder is omitted.

The direct-to-object print system disclosed herein can be placed incommunication with a workstation, as are generally understood in thecomputing arts. Such a workstation has a computer case which housesvarious components such as a motherboard with a processor and memory, anetwork card, a video card, a hard drive capable of reading/writing tomachine readable media such as a floppy disk, optical disk, CD-ROM, DVD,magnetic tape, and the like, and other software and hardware needed toperform the functionality of a computer workstation. The workstationfurther includes a display device, such as a CRT, LCD, or touchscreendevice, for displaying information, images, classifications, computedvalues, extracted vessels, patient medical information, results, interimvalues, and the like. A user can view any of that information and make aselection from menu options displayed thereon. The workstation has anoperating system and other specialized software configured to displayalphanumeric values, menus, scroll bars, dials, slideable bars,pull-down options, selectable buttons, and the like, for entering,selecting, modifying, and accepting information needed for processing inaccordance with the teachings hereof. The workstation can display imagesand information about the operations of the present direct-to-objectprint system. A user or technician can use a user interface of theworkstation to set parameters, view/adjust/delete values, and adjustvarious aspects of various operational components of the presentdirect-to-object print system, as needed or desired, depending on theimplementation. These selections or inputs may be stored to a storagedevice. Settings can be retrieved from the storage device. Theworkstation can be a laptop, mainframe, or a special purpose computersuch as an ASIC, circuit, or the like.

Any of the components of the workstation may be placed in communicationwith any of the modules and processing units of the direct-to-objectprint system and any of the operational components of the presentdirect-to-object print system can be placed in communication withstorage devices and computer readable media and may store/retrievetherefrom data, variables, records, parameters, functions, and/ormachine readable/executable program instructions, as needed to performtheir intended functions. The various components of the presentdirect-to-object print system may be placed in communication with one ormore remote devices over network via a wired or wireless protocol. Itshould be appreciated that some or all of the functionality performed byany of the components of the direct-to-object print system can becontrolled, in whole or in part, by the workstation.

The teachings hereof can be implemented in hardware or software usingany known or later developed systems, structures, devices, and/orsoftware by those skilled in the applicable art without undueexperimentation from the functional description provided herein with ageneral knowledge of the relevant arts. One or more aspects of thesystems disclosed herein may be incorporated in an article ofmanufacture which may be shipped, sold, leased, or otherwise providedseparately either alone or as part of a product suite or a service. Theabove-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternativesthereof, may be desirably combined into other different systems orapplications.

Presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications,variations, or improvements may become apparent and/or subsequently madeby those skilled in this art which are also intended to be encompassedby the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An object holder for retaining an object in adirect-to-object print system, the object holder comprising: a shuttlemount configured to slideably traverse a support member positionedparallel to a plane formed by at least one printhead of adirect-to-object print system, a first side wall and a second side walldisposed on the shuttle mount in a direction perpendicular to adirection of travel along the support member and perpendicular to theplane formed by the at least one print head; at least one collapsiblemembrane attached to the shuttle mount, the membrane forming an airtightsack filled with granules, the membrane collapses at least partiallyaround an object when a volume of air is withdrawn from the membrane,the first side wall and the second side wall forming a shape around themembrane that contains the object on the membrane; and a pump connectedto the membrane, the pump withdrawing a volume of air from the membranecauses the membrane to collapse, the vacuum-packed granules inside thecollapsed membrane conform to a shape of the object thereby securing theobject to the shuttle mount.
 2. The object holder of claim 1, whereinthe granules are any of: coffee grounds, sand, rice, pellets, beads,jacks, and a polyurethane-based foam packing material.
 3. The objectholder of claim 1, wherein the membrane is one of: fixedly attached tothe shuttle mount, and releasably attached to the shuttle mount.
 4. Theobject holder of claim 1, wherein an outside surface of the membrane hasa coefficient of static friction at least 0.2.
 5. The object holder ofclaim 1, wherein the shuttle mount has at least two sidewalls.
 6. Theobject holder of claim 1, further a valve for equalizing the airpressure inside the membrane.
 7. A direct-to-object print system forprinting on a surface of an object, the direct-to-object print systemcomprising: at least one printhead configured to eject marking materialon to a surface of an object; a support member positioned parallel to aplane formed by the printhead; an object holder comprising: a shuttlemount configured to slideably traverse the support member, a first sidewall and a second side wall disposed on the shuttle mount in a directionperpendicular to a direction of travel along the support member andperpendicular to the plane formed by the at least one print head; atleast one collapsible membrane attached to the shuttle mount, themembrane forming an airtight sack filled with granules, the membranecollapses at least partially around an object when a volume of air iswithdrawn from the membrane the first side wall and the second side wallforming a shape around the membrane that contains the object on themembrane; and a pump connected to the membrane, the pump withdrawing avolume of air from the membrane causes the membrane to collapse, thevacuum-packed granules inside the collapsed membrane conform to a shapeof the object thereby securing the object to the shuttle mount; and acontroller configured to cause the printhead to eject marking materialonto the object held by the object holder as the object passes theprinthead.
 8. The direct-to-object print system of claim 7, furthercomprising an actuator for operatively causing the object holder toslideably traverse the support member.
 9. The direct-to-object printsystem of claim 8, further comprising a sensor positioned to generateimage data from one of: the object holder, the object, and a sheet ofprinted media, the controller being configured to receive the image datafrom the sensor and analyze the image data to identify any of: printheadalignment, image quality, and inoperative ejectors.
 10. Thedirect-to-object print system of claim 8, further comprising a belt thatcontacts pulleys, one of the pulleys being operatively connected to theactuator which causes the pulley to move the belt about the pulleys andmove the object holder past the printhead.
 11. The direct-to-objectprint system of claim 10, wherein the belt is entrained about thepulleys to form an endless belt, further comprising an additional pulleythat engages the endless belt to enable the additional pulley to rotatein response to a movement of the endless belt to move the object holder.12. The direct-to-object print system of claim 7, wherein the supportmember is oriented to enable one end of the support member to be at ahigher gravitational potential than another end of the support member.13. The direct-to-object print system of claim 7, wherein the granulesare any of: coffee grounds, sand, rice, pellets, beads, jacks, and apolyurethane-based foam packing material.
 14. The direct-to-object printsystem of claim 7, wherein the membrane is one of: fixedly attached tothe shuttle mount, and releasably attached to the shuttle mount.
 15. Thedirect-to-object print system of claim 7, wherein an outside surface ofthe membrane has a coefficient of static friction at least 0.2.
 16. Thedirect-to-object print system of claim 7, wherein the shuttle mount hasat least two sidewalls.
 17. The direct-to-object print system of claim7, further comprising a valve for equalizing the air pressure inside themembrane.
 18. The direct-to-object print system of claim 7, wherein thepump is operated by the controller.
 19. The direct-to-object printsystem of claim 7, further comprising an identification tag and an inputdevice.
 20. The direct-to-object print system of claim 19, wherein theidentification tag comprises any of: a RFID tag containing an identifierand the input device is a RFID reader, a barcode containing anidentifier and the input device is a barcode reader, and at least onemechanical feature and the input device is a biased arm that follows themechanical features and converts a position of the arm into anelectrical signal comprising an identifier.
 21. The direct-to-objectprint system of claim 19, wherein the controller is further configuredto: receive the identifier from the input device; compare the identifierto at least one identifier stored in a memory; and disable the actuatorin response to the identifier failing to correspond to any of theidentifiers stored in memory.
 22. The direct-to-object print system ofclaim 19, wherein the controller is further configured to: receive theidentifier from the input device; compare the identifier to identifiersstored in a memory; and disable operation of the printhead in responseto the identifier failing to correspond to any of the identifiers storedin memory.
 23. The direct-to-object print system of claim 7, wherein thecontroller is further configured to operate a user interface.
 24. Thedirect-to-object print system of claim 23, wherein the controller isfurther configured to: detect a configuration of the printhead and inksupplied to the printhead; and communicate a message to the userinterface, the message being any of: that ink needs to be changed, andthat the printhead needs to be reconfigured.
 25. The direct-to-objectprint system of claim 23, wherein the user interface comprises: adisplay, a user input device, and an annunciator for emitting an audiblesound.